When Zhou Yan heard the woman's request, his expression remained unchanged. He nodded slightly and said, "Driving out evil spirits isn't difficult. But your husband wasn't simply possessed by a ghost. It seems he agreed to some condition with the female ghost..."
"So, while it's easy for me to drive her out, your husband has a contract with the female ghost, and he could easily be haunted again..."
"That would only treat the symptoms, not the cause..."
"..."
Although Zhou Yan had never received orthodox cultivation guidance, he understood that he couldn't simply kill every wandering ghost he encountered.
Doing so would only diminish his own karmic virtue.
Even though he didn't actually understand what karmic virtue meant.
But business was business. Zhou Yan was only helping people drive away ghosts and evil spirits. He couldn't afford to lose his entire fortune over it.
So, as long as a ghost hadn't taken a life, he wouldn't kill it lightly.
"What should we do, then?" The woman panicked.
Zhou Yan reassured her, "Don't worry yet. I'll suppress the female ghost first and help your husband regain his senses. Once we've gotten the full story, we can decide what to do."
The woman nodded repeatedly. "All right, all right. Please help us, Dharma Master Zhou."
"Wait outside."
Zhou Yan spoke without any ceremony.
The woman knew his rules. She glanced worriedly at her husband, then slowly walked out and closed the door behind her.
As the room fell dark, Zhou Yan looked at the man and said sternly, "I don't care what grudges you have with him. Once he comes to his senses, you can talk things over. For now, be a good girl and get out of the way. Don't cause trouble."
"Roar..."
The female ghost seemed enraged. Still possessing the man, she bared her teeth at Zhou Yan, glaring viciously.
Seeing that she wouldn't listen to reason, Zhou Yan didn't bother being polite. He simply glared back.
In an instant, an invisible storm of energy burst from his eyes.
The energy took the form of a yaksha, its face hideous, a pair of wings on its back, and a steel trident in its hand. Black mist swirled around it, making it look like a creature from the depths of hell.
An ordinary person would have been scared to death at the sight. There was nothing about it that suggested it was a Buddhist guardian deity.
The yaksha entered the man's body and beat the female ghost mercilessly. The ghost, who had been baring her teeth moments before, was soon reduced to whimpering "Waaah, waaah." She shrank into a corner of the man's mind and hid there.
Even so, she still wouldn't leave the man's body.
Only then was Zhou Yan satisfied. He withdrew the thought that had manifested the yaksha and returned it to his soul.
He had obtained the Yakshas Meditation Method over a month ago. After relentlessly practicing day and night, he had pushed his soul to the brink of collapse. Several times, he had lain motionless on the ground for a long while, his mind completely blank and nearly numb.
Fortunately, his hard work hadn't been in vain. He had successfully raised the Yakshas Meditation Method to the proficient level.
Now, Zhou Yan could not only visualize a complete yaksha in his mind, but also briefly transform his thoughts into a yaksha that could leave his body and attack.
Against an opponent with a weak soul, a single strike would be enough to kill them.
At the very least, it would leave them dizzy and their head splitting with pain.
By comparison, that Young Master Biao had used the Yakshas Meditation Method to control vengeful ghosts and commit evil. He had completely mistaken the jewel for the box.
As Zhou Yan withdrew his yaksha thought, the expression on the man's face began to change. The gloomy, ghostly look faded, and he started to look human again.
"All right, come in."
At Zhou Yan's words, the woman, who had been waiting anxiously outside, hurried in. Seeing that her husband had changed, she rushed to his side. "Asheng, Asheng, wake up! If anything happens to you, how will our child and I survive?"
As his wife called to him, the confusion in the man's eyes began to clear, and he recognized her.
"Aying, you... I..."
He hadn't fully recovered yet. His memories were still stuck at the moment when the trouble began, and he was slow to understand what was happening.
But soon, his wife explained everything, and he understood.
"Master, please save me!"
The man immediately fell to his knees in front of Zhou Yan and begged loudly.
Seeing her husband kneel, the woman hurried to kneel as well, pleading with him.
Zhou Yan frowned slightly and reassured them, "Don't panic. First, tell me everything that happened from beginning to end..."
Seeing Zhou Yan's calm expression, Asheng felt a little more at ease.
Then he told him what had happened.
Asheng's family wasn't particularly wealthy, but thanks to the hard work of their ancestors, they had some savings. He wasn't a bad man, either. Aside from enjoying a drink, he was good in every other way, and he managed the family's restaurant business very well.
A few days ago, Asheng had drunk a little too much at a business dinner.
After seeing his guests off, he was so muddled that he somehow ended up somewhere unfamiliar on his way home.
There, he saw a beautiful woman who treated him with tenderness and care.
Wine was the matchmaker for lust. In his drunken confusion, Asheng couldn't even remember what he had done or what he had promised.
In any case, when he woke up the next day, he found himself in a ruined house.
Asheng had completely forgotten the previous night. Thinking himself unlucky, he dusted off his clothes and went home.
But the following night, he dreamed that a woman had come to demand that he honor his promise. He refused outright.
That was when he lost consciousness, and then, just now, he regained his senses...
Zhou Yan frowned slightly. "So you don't remember what you promised her?"
Asheng wore a bitter expression and shook his head. "I really don't."
Zhou Yan already had a good idea of what had happened. It looked very much like a trap.
But Asheng had made a promise, and he had a contract with the female ghost. There was no doubt about that.
Now the only question was what the female ghost wanted.
If it wasn't too difficult, it would be better to have Asheng settle it himself, so Zhou Yan wouldn't damage his own karmic virtue.
Zhou Yan manifested another thought and sent it into Asheng's body to negotiate with the female ghost.
Before long, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at Asheng. "All right, I've reached an agreement with the female ghost. Since you were the one who made the promise, you'll need to help her achieve deliverance and reincarnate.
"I'll give you a spirit tablet in a moment, with the female ghost's name on it. You only need to offer three incense sticks a day for forty-nine days..."
Asheng and his wife nodded quickly. "No problem. We'll do exactly as you say, Master."
Only then was Zhou Yan satisfied.
After everything was settled, Asheng and his wife thanked him profusely and left.
He watched them go, his gaze flickering slightly.
After driving away ghosts and evil spirits for some time, Zhou Yan had gradually realized that not every ghost needed to be killed. Most wandering ghosts were actually forced to suffer in the human world, and what they wanted most was to be delivered and reincarnated.
This had been a very simple matter. If Asheng hadn't forgotten his promise, he wouldn't have needed to come to Zhou Yan at all...
Before you continue